Regular visitors of Notinhalloffame.com know that we are slowly working on the top 50 of every major team in the NHL, NBA, NFL, and MLB. Once that is done, we will examine how each team honors its past players, coaches, and executives. As such, it is important to us that the University of Tennessee’s Athletic Hall of Fame has announced eight new member who comprise the Class of 2025.

The inductees are:

Eric Berry, Football, 2007-09.  Berry was the first and only two-time Unanimous All-American in Volunteers history, and was the 2009 Jim Thorpe Award winner.  A three-time All-SEC Selection, Berry won the 2008 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and the 2008 & 2009 Jack Tatum Award winner.  At Tennessee he recorded 14 Interceptions, and went on to have a very successful professional career with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Jenny Connolly, Women’s Swimming & Diving, 2009-12.  Connolly compiled 14 SEC Medals and 5 NCAA Medals and is one of the most successful backstroke and butterfly swimmers in Tennessee history.

A.W. Davis, Men’s Basketball, 1962-65.  Davis was a two-time All-SEC Selection, and would later serve Tennessee as a Coach and then an Analyst.

Mike Masters, Men’s Swimming & Diving, 1985-88.  Masters was a 12-time All-American, two-time SEC Champions and won the Bronze in the 1987 100m Freestyle.

Lauryn McCalley, Women’s Swimming & Diving, 2001-05.  McCauley won the 2005 NCAA Woman of the Year and was a five-time All-American diver. 

Lindsay Schutzler, Softball, 2004-07.  A three-time All-American, Schutzler hold the school record for Hits (362), Triples (20), At-Bats (946) and Games Played (296).  She led the Lady Vols to their first Women’s College World Series appearance.

Mike Sposa, Men’s Golf, 1988-91.  A two-time All-SEC Selection, Sposa was the third Volunteer to win the individual SEC Title.

Tony White, Men’s Basketball, 1983-87.  White is the only player in Volunteer history to lead the team in scoring and holds the single-game record for points (51) in school history.

The event will take place on April 11-12 this year.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the University of Tennessee Athletic Hall of Fame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A multi-faceted offensive player at Tennessee, Stanley Morgan was taken by the New England Patriots in the First Round of the 1977 Draft and was a prime offensive threat for the Pats for over a decade.

Originally used more as a returner as a rookie, the “Stanley Steamer” emerged as one of the top deep threats in football by his third season.  Quick as lightning, Morgan led the NFL three years in a row in Yards per Reception (1979-81), and was the league-leader in Touchdown Receptions with 12 in 1979.  Excellent in short and long routes, Morgan consistently displayed excellent yardage after first being touched.  Although he helped the Patriots reach the Super Bowl against the untouchable 1985’ Chicago Bears team, Morgan did not have a lot of great players around him to relieve the load, which hampered his overall touches.  Following the Super Bowl loss, Morgan had his third Pro Bowl and fourth Pro Bowl, and remained with the Patriots until 1989.  He retired after a final season as an Indianapolis Colt, leaving with 10,716 yards and 72 TDs.

As of this writing, no player with over 500 Receptions has a higher Yards per Reception than Stanley Morgan.

Eric Berry played his college ball at Tennessee, where he was one of the most prolific Defensive Backs in school history.  With the Volunteers, Berry was a two-time Consensus All-American and was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, so it was little wonder that Berry was the first Defensive Back taken in the 2010 Draft.

Drafted 5^th overall out of the University of Tennessee, Jamal Lewis was an immediate offensive force for the Baltimore Ravens rushing for 1,364 Yards in his rookie season.  More importantly, the Ravens went to the Super Bowl, and Lewis rushed for over 100 Yards and a TD in their Super Bowl XXXV win.  A knee injury took him out of his sophomore season, but he came back in 2002 with another 1,300 Yard Season though it was his 2003 year that places him on this list.  He rushed for 2,066 Yards, which as of this writing, is the third-best in history.  That year, Lewis was named the AP Offensive Player of the Year.

Playing his college ball at the University of Tennessee, Beattie Feathers would have an incredible rookie season with the Chicago Bears where in 1934 he would become the first 1,000 Yard rusher (though there are some football historians who dispute the accuracy) and he would also lead the league in All-Purpose Yards and Yards from Scrimmage and was a First Team All-Pro.  In the six seasons he played after (with Chicago, Brooklyn, and Green Bay), he didn't tally as much as he did as a rookie, but that campaign was so incredible and historical that he deserves a spot here.

Mike Stratton was the leader of one of the best linebacking crews in the American Football League, though his accomplishments seem to have been forgotten in the game’s folklore.  A 13^th Round Pick from Tennessee in 1962, Stratton fit in immediately with the Buffalo Bills, settling in at Right Linebacker, and from 1963 to 1968, he was a perennial AFL All-Star with two of those years seeing him chosen for First Team All-Pro.  Stratton was a massive cog in the Bills AFL Championship wins in 1964 and 1965, and in the former, he made "the hit heard round the world" taking San Diego Chargers Running Back Keith Lincoln out of the game and changing the momentum of a game that Buffalo was losing in the first half.  

The University of Tennessee has announced their six-person Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2019:

Doug Dickey, Football Coach 1964-69 & Administrator 1985-2003:

Under Dickey’s tutelage, the football program really took shape and he would take them to two SEC Championships while going 104-58-6.  As the Athletic Director, the University would 10 National Championships and 38 SEC Titles.

R.A. Dickey, Baseball 1994-96:

Named the Baseball America Freshman of the Year and would win 38 Games for the Volunteers, a school record and would lead Tennessee win the 1995 College World Series.  Dickey would go on to have a successful career in the Majors, highlighted by winning the National League Cy Young Award in 2012.

Christine Magnuson, Swimming & Diving 2005-08:

Magnuson was the 2008 NCAA Champion in the 100-Yard Butterfly and was also the SEC Swimmer of the Year. She was a 23-time All-American.

Gus Manning, Administrator 1951-2000:

Holding a variety of different positions over his 50-year career serving under eight different Assistant Directors.

Candace Parker, Women’s Basketball 2005-08:

Parker was an absolute superstar leading the Lady Vols to the NCAA Championship in both 2007 and 2008.  She would also win the Naismith College Player of the Year in 2008 and the John R. Wooden Award in 2007 and 2008.  She would score 2,137 Points and made history as the first woman to dunk in an NCAA Tournament Game.  Parker would later become the number one draft pick in the WNBA and is a two-time league MVP.  She is also a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist for Team U.S.A.

Tony Parrilla, Men’s Track & Field 1991-94:

Parrilla won four 800-Meter Titles and was a 10-time All-American.  He was named the 1994 SEC Men’s Track & Field Outdoor Athlete of the Year.

The Class of 2019 will be officially inducted on October 25 and they will be recognized the following day during their football game against South Carolina.  

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the future University of Tennessee Hall of Famers.

Dale Ellis was a great shooter, although we don’t think the Basketball Hall of Fame likes shooters.  His 19,000 career points and sixth position all time in three pointers easily gets him on this list.  Quite simply, he was a great shooter at Tennessee, he was a great shooter in Milwaukee and he was a great shooter in Seattle.  Oh and did we mention that he played forever?